History of the Survivor Medevac

With the recent release of information about the medevac twist for next season, everyone is out looking for either spoilers or speculation.  I provided the spoilers already (read here if you want to know who’s coming back!), so here’s a little (spoiler free) speculation: a list of every player to medevac out of Survivor ever (don’t worry, there are only 10).  If you haven’t read the spoilers, who do you think they should/will bring back?  If you have read the spoilers, did they choose the right people?

Survivor: Philippines Twist (With Cast Spoilers!)

At the end of one of Survivor’s most boring reunion episodes ever last night (did we really need Blossom’s commentary on Colton?), Probst revealed the format for season 25, which will be held in the Philippines.  3 previous players who were evacuated for medical reasons in prior seasons will be returning for another shot.  And I have all the T on who the 3 returnees are, so if you want to know, click on the jump down below!

I have to be honest–I don’t love this idea.  I like the idea of bringing back people who were medevaced, but why only bring 3 among a cast of newbies? I’d much prefer they do all returnees or none.  How great would an “Unfinished Business” (a la a couple seasons of Amazing Race ago) be?  They could bring back people who made historically dumb moves (Erik, James), people who were medevaced, people who were eliminated due to purple rock debaucles, etc.  I could think up a full cast just off the top of my head.  But season 25 has already been filmed, so there’s no sense protesting it now.  Mark your calendars, because it looks like the season premiere of Survivor: Philippines will premiere on September 19th.

So who, exactly, is coming back? Find out more after the jump! WARNING: Clicking the link will reveal who the returning players are, so if you don’t want to know, don’t look!

Survivor: One World Finale & Reunion

I know that 2 months ago I said I was ready to start blogging regularly again, and then I never came back.  Sorry bout it! I shouldn’t be disappearing again any time soon, though.  On to the Survivor finale & reunion!

All Hail Kim, Ruler of One World

Kim and her mustache: the unbreakable alliance

It was a clean sweep for Kim last night.  Winning both the million dollars and fan favorite must be pretty sweet, and it was well deserved.  Kim played an incredible game from start to finish.  She called most of the shots and was a challenge beast, and everyone knew it.  But not once (aside from Troyzan’s failed attempt) did anyone seriously consider getting rid of her.  She played this season just like Boston Rob did on Redemption Island: it was a benevolent dictatorship where the subjects were too brainwashed to even think about the threat their leader posed to the end game.

Now Kim, go take that $1.1 million you just won and buy yourself a lifetime supply of electrolysis appointments for that upper lip!

Kat’s Final Tribal 180

Was anyone as bum-puzzled (thanks, Jay, for my new favorite adjective) by Kat’s speech at the final tribal?  I was fully expecting a vitriolic tirade wherein Jeff had to tell her to wrap it up.  Since her blindside, Kat has been the bitterest Betty since Russell Hantz.  And then she came out with that totally heartfelt, uplifting speech.  Who knew she possessed that level of maturity?  Not me!

Colton & Alicia

I’m sorry, but I’m not buying any of what these two were selling last night.  While I’m sure Colton isn’t attending regular KKK meetups, I do think the lady doth protest too much when it came to the racism accusations. But half the reunion was dedicated to him, so I’m over it. NEXT!

Alicia, too, was full of hot air in her teary apology at the reunion.  I’m a special education teacher too, and it takes a LOT to offend me, but even I winced when she made the comment comparing Christina to her students.  Aside from that, though, I really am concerned in general that she is a teacher of America’s youth.  I fear for the future of this nation. Alicia, I beg of you: quit your teaching job and find something better suited to your skill set.  It’s too bad Flavor of Love is off the air–you would have been perfect for that show.

Final Thoughts on One World

I loved the concept of One World.  I wish they would do it again sometime and stick to it longer (before mixing up the tribes).  Over the years, Survivor has come up with some very interesting twists and then given up on them too early in the season.  Meanwhile, we got stuck with Redemption Island for 2 whole craptastic seasons.  But I digress.

Overall this season was kind of forgettable for me.  The only players who were remotely entertaining (Troyzan) or likeable (Jonas) were voted out too early.    Previous seasons have fallen into this trap before, where the editing gets too focused on one person (think of Samoa and Redemption Island), and you barely see anything else.  While Kim’s game was nearly flawless, it wasn’t exactly thrilling to watch.

Oh Well.  There’s always next season.  I’m pretty stoked for the twist (previously med-evac’ed players returning for a second chance), but that’s a discussion for anther blog (which will be posted relatively soon, so stay tuned)!

Don’t Call it a Comeback

I haven’t posted anything on here in months (not since November 2011, to be exact), but I’m back, bitches!

Things have been crazy busy for a while now, but now that I’m slowly getting back to having no life, I’m hoping I can make posting a regular thing again.

I’m going to do a Survivor recap tomorrow, but to tide you over in the meantime, here’s the video for BIGBANG’s new single, “Fantastic Baby”!  I really can’t stop staring at it.  I can’t decide who I like more: the guy with the Hot Topic meets Kate Gosselin hair, or the guy who looks like his head got stuck in a cotton candy machine.  Flawless!

Episode 10: Running the Show (11/16)

I love a good Pagonging* as much as the next guy (that’s what she said), but this season is sort of starting to look like last season where every single vote is obvious and there’s absolutely no drama whatsoever.  I’m glad they’re feeding us the condensed Savaii massacre (with 2 weeks in a row of double eliminations) because if that had been dragged out into 4 episodes I just might have given up.

*Pagonging = reference to season 1 when Tagi completely decimated Pagong after the merge, keeping all their tribe members together until all of Pagong’s were gone.

The Truel

Over at Redemption Island, we got to see this season’s first 3-man duel (truel? trial? I have no idea), thus beginning the RI clusterfuck that started around this time last season.  Was it any surprise that Ozzy won this challenge?  I have to give props to the editors for making it as dramatic as they could, but really, there was never any doubt in my mind.

So Jim “the most unique man to ever play this game” Rice is our first juror, and Keith “Homewrecker” Tollefson is our second.  Why did I call Keith a homewrecker, you ask?  Well, I’ll tell you later!

Ozzy: Still a Moron

Ozzy’s sitting pretty.  He’s away from the drama, he’s self-sufficient, and he has a great shot of winning any given duel.  Plus, he’ll be the last person people hang out with before they go to jury.  But then he had to go and tell everyone about it.

I would say it’s generally frowned upon to explain to everyone left in the game why you’re in a better position than they are.  Who the hell would want to take him to the end now?  I think that once again, Ozzy’s ego took over and logic fell by the wayside.  No one’s rooting for me!  Oh yeah?  Well you’d have to be a complete retard to take me to the end!

Upolu’s Giant Crack

Slowly but surely, the cracks are deepening in the Upolu alliance.  Albert, Sophie and Cochran almost flipped last night (they were smart not to), and Coach is rightfully paranoid.

The thing I didn’t understand is why Albert wasn’t gunning for Coach rather than Edna when they considered flipping.  What the hell is the point of booting Edna, other than to weaken Coach?  Why not just go straight for the jugular and get Coach out now, and Edna (a much weaker player) next?  Booting Edna sends a clear message to Coach anyway, and a pissed off coach is a lot more threatening than a third-member-of-our-jury Coach.

Sophie FTW

I’m really really starting to love Sophie.  She’s playing a phenomenal game right now.  She’s under-the-radar but incredibly cunning and smart.  My heart still goes out to Cochran, but he’s overplaying his hand and it’s going to bite him in the ass really soon.  Sophie, on the other hand, only makes moves when she has to. And with her second immunity win last night, she sent out the biggest borewhore of the season, Whitney. Oh, that reminds me……

Remember a while ago when I called Keith a homewrecker?

Here’s why:  It’s been known among the Survivor message board fantards (like myself) for a while now that Whitney and Keith have been dating.  What we didn’t know until just recently, though, is that when they started dating, Whitney was MARRIED.  She lied to casting/production/everyone about it and said she was single for the show.  She even lied to her family and said she and her husband (Donny Fallgatter, a fellow country music wannabe) were engaged. Hey, if my last name was about to be Fallgatter, I’d probably lie about it too.

Apparently this Donny guy was totally faithful to Whitney while she was filming Survivor, and then right before she got back, she called him and broke it off.  She’s been dating Keith ever since they got back from Samoa.

Well, next week is the dreaded Thanksgiving recap episode, so I don’t know if I’ll be blogging it.  Hope you survive without me!

Episode 9: Cut Throat 11/9

This week’s episode of Survivor was way over-hyped in promos, but that’s not to say it wasn’t great.  I appreciated the fast-forward, since both eliminations were fairly obvious, and it saved us from an extra episode’s worth of Jim whining (more on that later).

Ozzy Voted Out

Ozzy’s banishment to Redemption Island was the best case scenario for everyone, I think. Upolu (and Cochran) eliminated a huge challenge threat.  All the remaining Savaii members dodged a bullet.  Ozzy, at least for now, can play the game without his self-righteousness and utter lack of social skills getting in the way.  We, the viewers, are being given a break from his his delusional spewing.  It’s a win-win-win-win.

This probably goes without saying, but Ozzy is far too confident about his chances on Redemption Island.  The duels are not run-of-the-mill Survivor obstacle courses.  They typically require some degree of mental ability, which Ozzy clearly lacks.  And now that they’ve merged, he’ll be up against much more worthy opponents.

What Happened to Jim?

I was really starting to like Jim up until he called Cochran a coward two weeks ago.  And no, that’s not just because I’m a Cochran fantard (which I am).  Up until the merge, Jim made it abundantly clear that he was willing to slit any throats necessary to advance himself in the game.  And yet, when someone (Cochran) did it to him, Jim’s all of a sudden on a soapbox made of integrity and righteousness?  Please.  He’s my least favorite type of Survivor player–the one who can dish it out but can’t take it.

He really screwed up with his “rousing speech” strategy, too.  When has that EVER worked?  I get that he was backed into a corner and pretty much had no other options, but the fact that he had even slight confidence in that plan is totally baffling.

Other Stuff

• Upolu is still solid at this point, but you can see the cracks starting to form.  They’re an alliance of 5 type-A people (and Rick), so I wouldn’t be surprised at all if some splinter groups form within the next couple of weeks.
• I’m curious how the 3 people on RI thing will play out, because I do recall Jeff Probst saying in an interview (or on twitter, I forget) that there would only be two-person duels this season.
• Cochran should stop wearing Coach’s blazer.  He looks like a toddler in it.
• Actually, Coach should stop wearing Coach’s blazer too. He looks like a douche in it.
• The budding bromance between Cochran and Brandon is absolutely bizarre.  I don’t think it’ll last.

Midterm Progress Reports! 11/2

Photoshop by Sportsman at SurvivorSucks

Sorry I’m posting this so late, but I had to breathe through a paper bag for a full 24 hours after last night’s tribal.  That will definitely go down in the annals of Survivor’s most memorable tribal councils (right up there with Paschal’s purple rock, Becky’s and Sundra’s pathetic firemaking skills, James being booted with 2 idols, and pretty much every tribal council in Micronesia). We got it all last night–arguments! deception! asinine usage of idols! ties! backstabbing! name-calling! Rick’s mustache! Sophie’s mustache!

Ultimately, I think the right person was booted and Cochran made the right choice in flipping.  He put himself in a terribly, terribly stupid position where he had to burn half the tribe no matter what he did, but Upolu is a way more reliable, solid (read: not retarded) alliance to be a part of than Savaii.  I’m very, very interested to see how Cochran tries to swing this all to his original tribemates.

How everyone is measuring up at this point:

• Dawn: I really like her and she’s playing a decent game, but she won’t make it to finals.  She has no close allies and she’s far too likable for anyone to want to take her to the end.
• Ozzy: The worst.  Will never win.  Too stupid, too egocentric, too over-the-top.  Please, please, please, O Survivor gods, let this be his last appearance on the show.
• Jim: Great strategist, but I think he’s too cutthroat to win jury votes.
• Keith: Non-entity in the game.  And his stupid compass tattoo bothers me.
• Whitney: Even less of an entity than Keith.  Nothing comes to mind when I think about her except “southern accent” and “neon bra in the first episode.”
• Cochran:  Still my favorite, but he screwed himself.  He’s not a physical threat at all (duh), so hopefully he’ll be able to mend fences enough to make it to the end.  I think he lost a lot of jury votes last night, unfortunately.
• Coach: Megadouche, but he’s in good enough standing with his tribe to make it quite far (he’ll never win, though).
• Edna: Great strategy, not so great execution sometimes. Probably won’t make it to finals unless Coach is there as well.
• Albert: Sitting pretty at this point.  He’s a huge threat to make it to the end (and win), which is exactly why he won’t.
• Brandon: Totally certifiable, but I like him.  He’s well-intentioned and extremely naive, which is appealing as a viewer.  He’s likely to be brought to the end as a goat, but he’ll never win.
• Sophie: Playing an awesomely subtle game.  She’s in a solid alliance, she’s aggressive but not outwardly so, she’s not a physical threat and she knows how to keep her mouth shut.  There’s a real possibility she’ll win if she makes it.
• Rick:  I want to see more of him.  I’d vote him most likely to be brought to the end for doing absolutely nothing.

p.s. Te Tuna just might be the worst merge name in the history of the show.  Right up there with Nobag (“It’s Gabon backwards!”).

Rick Speaks! Episode 6 (10/19)

I’m not really going to get into the Redemption Island duel, since it was boring and a waste of time (mostly because I haven’t cared an iota about any duelee so far this season).  Moving on…

Ozzy Fails at Strategy

I love a good blindside.  I especially love when a delusional weenie with a God complex finds out no one respects him (and no, I’m not talking about Coach).  Ozzy really brought the crazy tonight, first trying to calmly reason it out with his tribe.  Only, “I’m now what they call a free agent,” isn’t really reasonable.

Once Ozzy realized that road would lead to nowhere, he switched gears and tried to play the victim.  When Dawn (love her!) called him out for being a hypocrite, Ozzy just lost it.  He blurted out in frustration that he has the hidden immunity idol.

The next day, he realized how screwed he was and tried to spin the whole idol blab as “trying to reunify” with everyone.  In his confessional, he said he was trying to just do his best and “lead by example.”  I’m sorry, Ozzy, what are you leading?  Your alliance of one?  Or your tribe of people who neither like nor respect you?  Cochran said it best: “He’s just behaving like a stupid bitch.”

Mikayla Fails at Slingshots, Life

Mikayla really did suck at the immunity challenge.  And she was a stubborn dumbass for not just dropping out when it became obvious that her coconut-slinging skills were subpar.  If you suck at a challenge, there’s not much you can do other than step aside so the others can get it done.  Refusing to step aside tells the tribe that your ego is more important than teamwork.

I’ve never liked Mikayla.  I think she’s whiny, not all that intelligent, and she’s yet to make me laugh at all.  Plus, she gave Brandon a tingly feeling in his privates, although I guess I can’t really hold that against her, since that’s about the only entertainment she’s brought to the season.  I’m not at all disappointed Mikayla got voted out.  I’m just happy they kept Edna.  I like Edna.  She knows exactly how to kiss Coach’s ass.  I hope she makes it far.

Other Notes

• Coach, when considering whether he should tell Brandon about the idol, said “Is witholding information lying?  It’s a gray area.”  HOW OLD ARE YOU?!
• Rick is no longer invisible!  How exciting!  Although I must say, his voice is disappointingly un-twangy.
• I love Edna’s makeshift visor.  It appears to be made out of a treemail and a string.  It makes me laugh every time I see it.  It’s just so ridiculous looking.
• Brandon, when trying to tell Jeff that the next challenge was crucial to Upolu’s success post-merge, said “This next challenge is detrimental to the way this game turns out.”  It’s OK, Brandon.  Words are hard.
• Edna’s little vote confessional to Mikayla was possibly the best I’ve ever heard.  As she held up Mikayla’s name, she said, “I hope your time here has helped your future modeling career.”  Edna, you passive-aggressive bitch!  Brilliant!

Taste the Victory 10/12

Survivor: South Pacific delivered yet again last night.  They’re showing significantly less Redemption Island footage this season, allowing for more time to develop the plot in the “real” game.  Whether this was an intentional format change or simply a coincidence, I don’t know.  But I like it.

Redemption Island

The episode started out with Stacey and Christine griping on RI.  Stacey is a bitter bitch, but she makes me laugh.  She said her tribe was “going to hell with gasoline drawers on,” for chrissake.  Where does she come up with this stuff?  Once she got into her whole “Benjamin” speech at the duel, though, it became apparent that she’s legitimately off her rocker and should probably be medicated.  Her one-liners will be missed.

Coach “Don’t Call Me Benjamin” Wade

Coach seems to have erased a lot of his progress this week.  For the past few episodes he’s been coming across as a lot more mature, sane, and likable than past seasons.  But last night, Coach was back to doing Coach things (calling himself “Dragon” after finding the idol, for example).  It’s only a matter of time before the stories about pygmy cannibals start up again.  Sigh.

Middle-Aged Ozzy

Over on Savaii, Ozzy continues to prove that he’s learned nothing from his past failures in this game.  He’s still the same old judgmental, narcissistic guy he always was, only now he’s older and less in-shape.  He really thought he was running the game up until Elyse was blindsided, and I was happy to see him knocked down a few pegs. I can’t wait to see how that whole storyline unfolds next week, and I’m sure he’ll be needing his hidden immunity idol soon enough.

Whose Meat Weighs the Most?

The immunity challenge made the middle schooler in me giggle.  It was one “That’s what she said” after another.  Who doesn’t love a good inadvertent penis joke (or twenty)?  Both teams fought hard to fit the most meat in their mouths (teehee), but ultimately, Upolu’s meat was more massive (haha) and they won immunity.  They also won reward, which consisted of spices, veggies, and all 22 pounds of regurgitated meat from the challenge.  Yum.

Coch-Train Survives Again

While I would have loved to see Ozzy go last night, Savaii needs to keep their tribe strong until the merge, so Elyse was the next best thing.  I think they made a wise decision.  I do, however, think that Keith & Whitney were dumb to vote for Dawn.  I know they were trying to avoid ruffling any feathers, but being non-committal like that often has the opposite effect. They’ve made it clear that they’re not really loyal to either side, and wild cards can be perceived as very threatening in this game.

I’ll be interested to see who wins the duel next week.  I’m also very excited to see how Ozzy handles the realization that he’s not running the game anymore.  I can’t wait for next week’s episode!

Survivalism (10/5)

This season is really off to a great start.  I love the cast, and while I’m not crazy about Redemption Island, so far it hasn’t been too much of a hassle.  Last night’s episode was action-packed!

Brandon Rides the Crazy Train

I actually feel bad for Brandon.  It’s obvious he has a shady past and is still struggling to figure it all out–he has no business being on Survivor.  I think it’s hilarious, though, that all of his tribemates keep comparing him to Russell.  The fact of the matter is that Brandon and Russell have nothing in common (except, perhaps, for their mutual resemblance to a Tolkien character).  Brandon is obviously trying to do no wrong, but that’s virtually impossible in a game like Survivor.  He’s making himself look like a lunatic and it’s kind of embarrassing to watch.

I did love when Coach essentially told Brandon to shut the eff up.  Coach actually has some sense this season.  How the hell did that happen?  He’s stopped trying to be a caricature and started acting like an amicable, cool guy.  I actually feel like I might even like Coach.  I can’t believe I just typed those words.

Papa Bear Goes Home

It was sad to see Papa Bear lose the duel.  He had potential to be a very interesting character.  It particularly pained me to see him lose to Miss Personality herself, Christine, who just might have the worst case of stinkface I’ve ever seen.  She just seems like such an unhappy person.  I hope she doesn’t last on Redemption Island, but then again, her newest opponent (Stacey) is even worse.

Edna Tries Too Hard

I felt bad for Edna last night, too.  She got a bad rap.  She seems like a sweet lady who’s just a little clueless.  I don’t think she’s as hated on her tribe as they tried to make it seem, though.  I noticed that the only people who said anything negative about Edna were Stacey and Mikayla, both colossal bitches.  Stacey’s argument against Edna was that she talks too much.  OK, maybe she does. But I think they need to cut the poor girl some slack.

I think Stacey said it best when she said this about Edna: “Bones on bones can’t…Bones cant lift too much if it’s all skeleton with the bones.”  Well said, Stacey.

Dawn Kicks Ass, Stacey Gets Booted

The Immunity challenge last night is a classic Survivor challenge.  It’s one of my favorites because it always reminds me of Giles Corey.  Dawn desperately needed a boost to her self-confidence, and she got it last night.  She’s shaping up to be a really interesting character.

Of course, that meant Upolu lost the challenge, and Stacey’s abundantly cheerful demeanor got her voted out of the tribe.  Really, though, is it any surprise that she’s a mortician?  Her social skills and ability to form intelligible sentences are both severely lacking.  She’s not exactly a charmer, is she?

Other Notes

• How hilarious were Brandon’s faces in this challenge?  He looked like he busted a night and/or pooped his pants.
• Speaking of Brandon, have you noticed that his occupation on the show is listed as “Russell Hantz’s newphew”?  I wonder if that comes with dental.
• Jim’s teeth really are “suspiciously white,” don’t you think?
• I’d really like to hear more from the so-far invisible people (Ron Swanson Rick, Keith, Albert, Whitney)
• I’m dying to find out what Coach’s big hangup is about being called Benjamin, and why everyone else in the game then proceeded to call him Benjamin.

See ya next week!